An Bille Airgeadais, 2019

Finance Bill 2019

Mar a ritheadh ag Dáil Éireann

As passed by Dáil Éireann

[No. 82b of 2019]

AN BILLE AIRGEADAIS, 2019FINANCE BILL 2019

Mar a ritheadh ag Dáil ÉireannAs passed by Dáil Éireann

CONTENTS

PART 1

UNIVERSAL SOCIAL CHARGE, INCOME TAX, CORPORATION TAX AND CAPITAL GAINS TAX

CHAPTER 1

Interpretation

Section1. Interpretation (Part 1)

CHAPTER 2

Universal Social Charge

2. Amendment of section 531AN of Principal Act (rate of charge)

CHAPTER 3

Income Tax

3. Amendment of section 466A of Principal Act (home carer tax credit)4. Amendment of section 472AB of Principal Act (earned income tax credit)5. Sea-going naval personnel credit6. Benefit-in-kind: emissions-based calculations7. Amendment of section 204B of Principal Act (exemption in respect of compensation for

certain living donors)8. Amendment of section 205A of Principal Act (Magdalen Laundry payments)9. Amendment of section 825C of Principal Act (special assignee relief programme)10. Amendment of section 823A of Principal Act (deduction for income earned in certain

foreign states)11. Amendment of section 128F of Principal Act (key employee engagement programme)12. Amendment of section 1032 of Principal Act (restrictions on certain reliefs)13. Exemption of certain payments made or authorised by Child and Family Agency14. Exemption in respect of training allowance payments

[No. 82b of 2019]

15. Exemption in respect of certain education-related payments16. Amendment of section 477C of Principal Act (help to buy)17. Amendment of section 774 of Principal Act (certain approved schemes: exemptions

and reliefs)

CHAPTER 4

Income Tax, Corporation Tax and Capital Gains Tax

18. Living City Initiative19. Amendment of Part 11C of Principal Act (emissions-based limits on capital allowances

and expenses for certain road vehicles)20. Amendment of section 81 of Principal Act (general rule as to deductions)21. Amendment of Schedule 4 to Principal Act (exemption of specified non-commercial

state sponsored bodies from certain tax provisions)22. Amendment of section 845C of Principal Act (treatment of Additional Tier 1

instruments)23. Amendment of section 130 of Principal Act (matters to be treated as distributions)24. Amendment of Part 6 of Principal Act (distributions and dividend withholding tax)25. Amendment of Chapter 2 of Part 29 of Principal Act (scientific and certain other

research)26. Amendment of Part 16 of Principal Act (relief for investment in corporate trades)27. Transfer Pricing

CHAPTER 5

Corporation Tax

28. Amendment of section 110 of Principal Act (securitisation)29. Amendment of Part 25A of Principal Act (real estate investment trusts)30. Irish real estate funds31. Hybrid mismatches32. Amendment of section 739J of Principal Act (investment limited partnerships)33. Amendment of section 1035A of Principal Act (relieving provision to section 1035)34. Amendment of Part 28 of Principal Act (purchase and sale of securities)

CHAPTER 6

Capital Gains Tax

35. Amendment of section 604B of Principal Act (relief for farm restructuring)36. Amendment of section 616 of Principal Act (groups of companies: interpretation)37. Amendment of section 621 of Principal Act (depreciatory transactions in group)38. Amendment of provisions relating to exit tax

PART 2

EXCISE

39. Rates of tobacco products tax

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40. Amendment of Chapter 1 of Part 2 of, and Schedules 2 and 2A to, Finance Act 1999(mineral oil tax)

41. Amendment of Chapter 1 of Part 2 of Finance Act 1999 (mineral oil tax)42. Amendment of section 99A of Finance Act 1999 (relief for qualifying road transport

operators)43. Amendment of section 78A of Finance Act 2003 (relief for small breweries)44. Amendment of Schedule 2 to Finance Act 2008 (electricity tax)45. Amendment of section 67 of Finance Act 2010 (natural gas carbon tax rate)46. Amendment of section 78 of, and Schedule 1 to, Finance Act 2010 (solid fuel carbon

tax)47. Amendment of Chapter 1 of Part 2 of Finance Act 2002 (betting duty relief)48. Amendment of section 96 of Finance Act 2001 (interpretation (Part 2))49. Amendment of section 130 of Finance Act 1992 (interpretation)50. Amendment of section 132 of Finance Act 1992 (charge of excise duty)51. Amendment of section 135C of Finance Act 1992 (remission or repayment in respect

of vehicle registration tax, etc.)

PART 3

VALUE-ADDED TAX

52. Interpretation (Part 3)53. Amendment of Chapter 1 of Part 8 of Principal Act (general provisions)54. Amendment of section 108 of Principal Act (inspection and removal of records)55. Amendment of Part 2 of Schedule 3 to Principal Act (goods and services chargeable at

the reduced rate)

PART 4

STAMP DUTIES

56. Interpretation (Part 4)57. Amendment of stamp duty rate on non-residential property58. Amendment of section 124B of Principal Act (certain premiums of life assurance)59. Amendment of section 125 of Principal Act (certain premiums of insurance)60. Amendment of section 126AA of Principal Act (further levy on certain financial

institutions)61. Cancellation schemes of arrangement

PART 5

CAPITAL ACQUISITIONS TAX

62. Interpretation (Part 5)63. Amendment of section 48 of Principal Act (affidavits and accounts)64. Amendment of section 86 of Principal Act (exemption relating to certain dwellings)65. Amendment of Schedule 2 to Principal Act (computation of tax)

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PART 6

MISCELLANEOUS

66. Interpretation (Part 6)67. Mandatory automatic exchange of information in relation to reportable cross-border

arrangements68. Amendment of Part 40A of Principal Act (appeals to Appeals Commissioners)69. Mutual agreement procedures70. Amendment of section 917K of Principal Act (hard copies)71. Amendment of section 990 of Principal Act (assessment of tax due)72. Amendment of section 1001 of Principal Act (liability to tax, etc. of holder of fixed

charge on book debts of company)73. Amendment of Schedule 24A to Principal Act (arrangements made by the Government

with the government of any territory outside the State in relation to affording relieffrom double taxation and exchanging information in relation to tax)

74. Miscellaneous technical amendments in relation to tax75. Care and management of taxes and duties76. Short title, construction and commencement

SCHEDULE

MISCELLANEOUS TECHNICAL AMENDMENTS IN RELATION TO TAX

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ACTS REFERRED TO

Betting Act 1931 (No. 27)Capital Acquisitions Tax Consolidation Act 2003 (No. 1)

Child Care Act 1991 (No. 17)Companies Act 2014 (No. 38)

Courts (Supplemental Provisions) Act 1961 (No. 39)Courts of Justice Act 1924 (No. 10)

Finance (No. 2) Act 2008 (No. 25)Finance Act 1992 (No. 9)

Finance Act 1999 (No. 2)Finance Act 2001 (No. 7)

Finance Act 2002 (No. 5)Finance Act 2003 (No. 3)

Finance Act 2005 (No. 5)Finance Act 2008 (No. 3)

Finance Act 2010 (No. 5)Finance Act 2017 (No. 41)

Finance Act 2018 (No. 30)Investment Limited Partnerships Act 1994 (No. 24)

Social Welfare Consolidation Act 2005 (No. 26)Stamp Duties Consolidation Act 1999 (No. 31)

Stock Exchange Act 1995 (No. 9)Student Support Act 2011 (No. 4)

Succession Act 1965 (No. 27)Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 (No. 39)

Value-Added Tax Consolidation Act 2010 (No. 31)Withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union (Consequential Provisions) Act

2019 (No. 8)

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AN BILLE AIRGEADAIS, 2019FINANCE BILL 2019

Billentitled

An Act to provide for the imposition, repeal, remission, alteration and regulation of taxation, of stamp duties and of duties relating to excise and otherwise to make further provision in connection with finance including the regulation of customs.

Be it enacted by the Oireachtas as follows:

PART 1

UNIVERSAL SOCIAL CHARGE, INCOME TAX, CORPORATION TAX AND CAPITAL GAINS TAX

CHAPTER 1

Interpretation

Interpretation (Part 1)1. In this Part “Principal Act” means the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997.

CHAPTER 2

Universal Social Charge

Amendment of section 531AN of Principal Act (rate of charge)2. Section 531AN of the Principal Act is amended in subsection (4) by substituting “2021”

for “2020”.

CHAPTER 3

Income Tax

Amendment of section 466A of Principal Act (home carer tax credit)3. (1) Section 466A of the Principal Act is amended in subsection (2) by substituting

“€1,600” for “€1,500”.

(2) Subsection (1) shall apply for the year of assessment 2020 and each subsequent year of assessment.

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Amendment of section 472AB of Principal Act (earned income tax credit)4. (1) Section 472AB of the Principal Act is amended in subsection (2) by substituting

“€1,500” for “€1,350” in each place where it occurs.

(2) Subsection (1) shall apply for the year of assessment 2020 and each subsequent year of assessment.

Sea-going naval personnel credit5. (1) The Principal Act is amended—

(a) in section 458, by inserting, in Part 2 of the Table to that section, “Section 472BB” after “Section 472BA”, and

(b) by inserting the following after section 472BA:

“Sea-going naval personnel credit472BB. (1) In this section—

‘day at sea’ means a cumulative period of 8 hours within any 24-hour period on patrol at sea on board a naval vessel;

‘naval vessel’ means a naval patrol vessel owned by the Minister for Defence;

‘qualifying individual’ means a permanent member of the Irish Naval Service who has spent at least 80 days at sea in a relevant period performing the duties of his or her employment;

‘relevant period’, in relation to a year of assessment, means the immediately preceding year of assessment.

(2) Where for the year of assessment 2020 an individual is a qualifying individual—

(a) he or she shall be entitled to a tax credit (to be known as the ‘sea-going naval personnel credit’) of €1,270, and

(b) relief shall not be given under section 472B or 472BA in respect of that year.”.

(2) This section shall apply for the year of assessment 2020.

Benefit-in-kind: emissions-based calculations6. (1) Section 121 of the Principal Act is amended—

(a) in subsection (2)(b)(iv) by substituting “2022” for “2021”,

(b) in subsection (2)(b)(vi) by substituting “2022” for “2021”,

(c) in subsection (3) by inserting the following after paragraph (b):

“(c) This subsection is subject to subsection (4A) for the year of assessment 2023 and subsequent years.”,

(d) in subsection (4), by inserting the following after paragraph (c):

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“(d) This subsection is subject to subsection (4A) for the year of assessment 2023 and subsequent years.”,

and

(e) by inserting the following after subsection (4):

“(4A) (a) For the year of assessment 2023 and subsequent years, the cash equivalent of the benefit of a car shall be an amount determined by the formula—

Original market value x A

where—

A is a percentage, based on vehicle categories as set out in Table B to this subsection, determined in accordance with column (3), (4), (5), (6) or (7), as the case may be, of Table A to this subsection.

(b) In Table A to this subsection, any percentage shown in column (3), (4), (5), (6) or (7), as the case may be, shall be the percentage applicable to any business mileage for a year of assessment which—

(i) exceeds the lower limit (if any) shown in column (1), and

(ii) does not exceed the upper limit (if any) shown in column (2),

opposite the mention of that percentage in column (3), (4), (5), (6) or (7), as the case may be.

(c) Where a car in respect of which this section applies in relation to a person for a year of assessment is made available to the person for part only of that year, the cash equivalent of the benefit of that car as respects that person for that year shall be an amount which bears to the full amount of the cash equivalent of the car for that year (ascertained under paragraph (a)) the same proportion as that part of the year bears to that year.

(d) For the purposes of this section, the vehicle categories set out in column (1) of Table B to this subsection refer to a car whose CO2 emissions, determined by virtue of section 130 of Finance Act 1992, are set out in the corresponding entry in column (2) of Table B to this subsection.

TABLE A

Business mileage Vehicle Categories

lower limit(1)

upper limit(2)

A(3)

B(4)

C(5)

D(6)

E(7)

kilometres kilometres per cent per cent per cent per cent per cent

-- 26,000 22.5 26.25 30 33.75 37.5

26,001 39,000 18 21 24 27 30

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39,001 52,000 13.5 15.75 18 20.25 22.5

52,001 -- 9 10.5 12 13.5 15

TABLE B

Vehicle Category(1)

CO2 Emissions (CO2 g/km)(2)

A 0g/km up to and including 59g/km

B More than 59g/km up to and including 99g/km

C More than 99g/km up to and including 139g/km

D More than 139g/km up to and including 179g/km

E More than 179g/km

”.

(2) Section 121A of the Principal Act is amended—

(a) in subsection (2)(b)(iv) by substituting “2022” for “2021”,

(b) in subsection (2)(b)(vi) by substituting “2022” for “2021”,

(c) by substituting the following for subsection (3):

“(3) The cash equivalent of the benefit of a van—

(a) for a year of assessment, other than a year of assessment referred to in paragraph (b), shall be 5 per cent of the original market value of the van, and

(b) for the year of assessment 2023 and subsequent years of assessment, shall be 8 per cent of the original market value of the van.”,

(d) in subsection (4) by deleting “paragraph (b) of subsection (3),”, and

(e) by inserting the following after subsection (4):

“(5) Where a van in respect of which this section applies in relation to a person for a year of assessment is made available to the person for part only of that year, the cash equivalent of the benefit of that van as respects that person for that year shall be an amount which bears to the full amount of the cash equivalent of the van for that year (ascertained under subsection (3)) the same proportion as that part of the year bears to that year.”.

(3) The Finance (No. 2) Act 2008 is amended in section 6(1) by deleting paragraphs (b)(ii), (c)(iii) and (e).

Amendment of section 204B of Principal Act (exemption in respect of compensation for certain living donors)7. (1) Section 204B of the Principal Act is amended by inserting “or lobe of liver” after

“kidney”.

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(2) Subsection (1) shall be deemed to have come into operation on 12 March 2019.

Amendment of section 205A of Principal Act (Magdalen Laundry payments)8. (1) Section 205A of the Principal Act is amended in subsection (1) by substituting the

following for the definition of “relevant individual”:

“ ‘relevant individual’ means an individual who has received a payment referred to in paragraph (a) of the definition of ‘relevant payment’ in this subsection;”.

(2) Subsection (1) shall be deemed to have come into operation on 1 August 2013.

Amendment of section 825C of Principal Act (special assignee relief programme)9. (1) Section 825C of the Principal Act is amended—

(a) in subsection (2A), by substituting “2022” for “2020”,

(b) in subsection (2B)(b)(i)—

(i) in subclause (B), by substituting “the tax year 2019 and subsequent tax years” for “the tax years 2019 and 2020”, and

(ii) in subclause (C), by substituting “2020 and subsequent tax years” for “2020”,

and

(c) in subsection (4)(b), by substituting “2022” for “2020”.

(2) Subsection (1) shall apply for the year of assessment 2020 and each subsequent year of assessment.

Amendment of section 823A of Principal Act (deduction for income earned in certain foreign states)10. Section 823A of the Principal Act is amended—

(a) in subsection (1), in the definition of “relevant state”, by substituting “2022” for “2020” in each place where it occurs, and

(b) in subsection (6) by substituting “2022” for “2020”.

Amendment of section 128F of Principal Act (key employee engagement programme)11. (1) Section 128F of the Principal Act is amended—

(a) in subsection (1)—

(i) by inserting the following definitions after the definition of “qualifying company”:

“ ‘qualifying group’ means, subject to subsection (2A), a group of companies that consists of the following (and no other companies):

(a) a qualifying holding company,

(b) its qualifying subsidiary or subsidiaries, and

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(c) as the case may be, its relevant subsidiary or subsidiaries;

‘qualifying holding company’ means a company—

(a) which is not controlled either directly or indirectly by another company,

(b) which does not carry on a trade or trades, and

(c) whose business consists wholly or mainly of the holding of shares only in the following (and no other companies), namely, its qualifying subsidiary or subsidiaries and where it has a relevant subsidiary or subsidiaries, in that subsidiary or in each of them;”,

(ii) by substituting the following for the definition of “qualifying individual”:

“ ‘qualifying individual’, in relation to a qualifying share option, means an individual who throughout the entirety of the relevant period is—

(a) in the case of a qualifying group, an employee or director of a qualifying company within the group, and who is required to work at least 20 hours per week for such a qualifying company or to devote not less than 75 per cent of his or her working time to such a qualifying company, and

(b) in the case of a qualifying company not being a member of a qualifying group, an employee or director of the qualifying company, and who is required to work at least 20 hours per week for the qualifying company or to devote not less than 75 per cent of his or her working time to the qualifying company;”,

(iii) by substituting the following definition for the definition of “qualifying share option”:

“ ‘qualifying share option’, means a right granted to an employee or director of a qualifying company to purchase a predetermined number of shares in the qualifying company or, in the case of a qualifying group, in the qualifying holding company of the qualifying group, at a predetermined price, by reason of the individual’s employment or office in the qualifying company, where—

(a) the shares which may be acquired by the exercise of the share option are ordinary fully paid up shares in the qualifying company or, in the case of a qualifying group, in the qualifying holding company,

(b) the option price at date of grant is not less than the market value of the same class of shares at that time,

(c) there is a written contract or agreement in place specifying—

(i) the number and description of the shares which may be acquired by the exercise of the share option,

(ii) the option price, and

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(iii) the period during which the share options may be exercised,

(d) the total market value of all shares, in respect of which qualifying share options have been granted in the qualifying company or, in the qualifying holding company, to an employee or director does not exceed—

(i) €100,000 in any year of assessment,

(ii) €300,000 in all years of assessment, or

(iii) the amount of annual emoluments of the qualifying individual in the year of assessment in which the qualifying share option is granted,

(e) the share option is exercised by the qualifying individual in the relevant period,

(f) the shares are in a qualifying company or, in the case of a qualifying group, in the qualifying holding company, and

(g) the share option cannot be exercised more than 10 years from the date of grant of that option;”,

(iv) by inserting the following definition after the definition of “qualifying share option”:

“ ‘qualifying subsidiary’, in relation to a qualifying holding company, means a company in respect of which more than 50 per cent of its ordinary share capital is owned directly by the qualifying holding company;”,

(v) by substituting “individual;” for “individual.” in the definition of “relevant period”; and

(vi) by inserting the following definition after the definition of “relevant period”:

“ ‘relevant subsidiary’, in relation to the qualifying holding company, means a company in respect of which more than 50 per cent of its ordinary share capital is owned indirectly by the qualifying holding company, but for the purposes of this section a relevant subsidiary in relation to a qualifying holding company shall not be regarded as a qualifying company.”,

(b) in subsection (2)(b), by inserting “or, in the case of a qualifying group, of the qualifying holding company,” after “qualifying company”,

(c) in subsection (2), by substituting the following for paragraph (c):

“(c) where a qualifying individual is permitted to exercise a qualifying share option despite having ceased to be an employee or director of a qualifying company, the individual shall be deemed to satisfy the requirements as set out in the definition of ‘qualifying individual’ in subsection (1) in respect of the period the individual is not employed by a qualifying company, where the individual exercises the option within 90 days of the individual ceasing to hold the

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employment or office concerned with the qualifying company.”,

(d) by inserting the following after subsection (2)—

“(2A) For the purposes of this section, a group of companies shall be treated as a qualifying group only where—

(a) throughout the entirety of the relevant period—

(i) there is at least one qualifying company in the group which is a qualifying subsidiary,

(ii) the activities of the qualifying group, excluding the qualifying holding company, consist wholly or mainly of the carrying on of a qualifying trade,

(iii) each company in the qualifying group is an unquoted company none of whose shares, stock or debentures are listed on the official list of a stock exchange, or quoted on an unlisted securities market of a stock exchange, other than on—

(I) the market known as the Enterprise Securities Market of the Irish Stock Exchange, or

(II) any similar or corresponding market of the stock exchange in—

(A) a territory, other than the State, with the government of which arrangements having the force of law by virtue of section 826(1) have been made, or

(B) an EEA state other than the State,

and

(iv) each company in the qualifying group is not regarded as a company in difficulty for the purposes of the Commission Guidelines on State aid for rescuing and restructuring non-financial undertakings in difficulty1,

and

(b) at the date of grant of the qualifying share option—

(i) the qualifying group is a micro, small or medium sized enterprise within the meaning of the Annex to Commission Recommendation 2003/361/EC of 6 May 20032 concerning the definition of micro, small and medium sized enterprises, and

(ii) the total market value of the issued, but unexercised, qualifying share options of the qualifying holding company does not exceed €3,000,000.”,

(e) by deleting subsection (4),

(f) in subsection (5)—

1 OJ No. C249, 31.7.2014, p. 12 OJ No. L124, 20.5.2003, p. 36

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(i) in paragraph (a), by inserting “or, in the case of a qualifying group, of the qualifying holding company,” after “qualifying company”,

(ii) in paragraph (b), by inserting “or, in the case of a qualifying group, in the qualifying holding company” after “company” in both places where it occurs,

(iii) in paragraph (c)(ii), by deleting “paragraphs (a) and (b) of”, and

(iv) in paragraph (c), by substituting the following subparagraph for subparagraph (iii):

“(iii) throughout the relevant period, the company is a qualifying company or, in the case of a qualifying group, the holding company is a qualifying holding company.”,

(g) by substituting the following for subsection (7):

“(7) Where in any year of assessment a qualifying company grants a qualifying share option under this section, allots any shares or transfers any asset in pursuance of such a right, or gives any consideration for the assignment or release in whole or in part of such a right, or receives notice of the assignment of such a right, the qualifying company shall deliver particulars thereof to the Revenue Commissioners, in a format approved by them, not later than 31 March in the year of assessment following that year.”,

(h) by inserting the following subsection after subsection (7):

“(7A) Where in any year of assessment a company within a qualifying group grants a qualifying share option under this section, allots any shares or transfers any asset in pursuance of such a right, or gives any consideration for the assignment or release in whole or in part of such a right, or receives notice of the assignment of such a right, a qualifying company designated by the qualifying group shall deliver particulars thereof on behalf of the qualifying group to the Revenue Commissioners, in a format approved by them, not later than 31 March in the year of assessment following that year.”,

(i) in subsection (8)—

(i) by inserting “, or, as the case may be, qualifying groups” after “qualifying companies”, and

(ii) in paragraph (a) by inserting “or, in the case of a qualifying group, of each member of it and a subsequent reference in this subsection to a ‘company’ shall, as appropriate, be construed as including a reference to each such member” after “company”,

(j) by substituting the following subsection for subsection (10):

“(10) A company or group shall not be regarded as a qualifying company or, as the case may be, a qualifying group for the purposes of this section where the company, or in the case of a qualifying group, the company designated for the purposes of subsection (7A), fails to comply with subsection (7) or (7A)”,

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and

(k) in subsection (11), by substituting “a qualifying company” for “the qualifying company”.

(2) Subsection (1) shall come into operation on such day or days as the Minister for Finance may appoint by order or orders, either generally or with respect to different provisions or purposes.

Amendment of section 1032 of Principal Act (restrictions on certain reliefs)12. (1) Section 1032 of the Principal Act is amended—

(a) in subsection (2)(c), by inserting “, or of the United Kingdom,” after “European Communities”, and

(b) in subsection (3), by inserting “or of the United Kingdom” after “European Communities”.

(2) Subsection (1) shall apply from the day (at the time thereon appointed in that behalf under the Act next mentioned) that Part 6 of the Withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union (Consequential Provisions) Act 2019 comes into operation.

Exemption of certain payments made or authorised by Child and Family Agency13. (1) Chapter 1 of Part 7 of the Principal Act is amended—

(a) by deleting section 192B, and

(b) by inserting the following section:

“Exemption of certain payments made or authorised by Child and Family Agency192BA. (1) In this section—

‘carer’, in relation to an individual, means a person who is or was a foster parent or relative of the individual or who takes care of the individual on behalf of the Child and Family Agency;

‘foster parent’ has the meaning assigned to it in the Child Care (Placement of Children in Foster Care) Regulations 1995 (S.I. No. 260 of 1995);

‘Minister’ means the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs;

‘qualifying payment’ means a payment which is—

(a) (i) described in column (1) of the Table to this section,

(ii) paid on a basis specified in column (2) of that Table, and

(iii) made or authorised by the Child and Family Agency on behalf of the Minister,

or

(b) made in accordance with the law of any other Member State and which corresponds to a payment referred to in paragraph (a);

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‘qualifying person’ means a carer, foster parent, relative or any other individual to whom a qualifying payment is made;

‘relative’ has the meaning assigned to it in the Child Care (Placement of Children with Relatives) Regulations 1995 (S.I. No. 261 of 1995).

(2) A qualifying payment which is made to a qualifying person on or after 1 January 2020 shall be exempt from income tax and shall not be reckoned in computing the total income of the qualifying person for the purposes of the Income Tax Acts.

(3) A qualifying payment which is made to a qualifying person before 1 January 2020 shall be treated as if it were exempt from income tax in the year of assessment in which it is made and shall not be reckoned in computing the total income of the qualifying person for that year of assessment for the purposes of the Income Tax Acts.

TABLE

Description of payment Basis on which payment is made(1) (2)

Fostering Allowance

Child Care (Placement of Children in Foster Care) Regulations 1995Section 39, Child Care Act 1991 Child Care (Placement of Children with Relatives) Regulations 1995Section 36, Child Care Act 1991 Section 41, Child Care Act 1991

Enhanced Fostering Allowance

Child Care (Placement of Children in Foster Care) Regulations 1995Section 39, Child Care Act 1991 Child Care (Placement of Children with Relatives) Regulations 1995Section 36, Child Care Act 1991 Section 41, Child Care Act 1991

Supported Lodgings for Children in Care Allowance

Section 36(1)(d), Child Care Act 1991

Aftercare Allowance Section 45, Child Care Act 1991 Aftercare Additional Financial Support

Section 45, Child Care Act 1991

Adoption Maintenance Allowance

Sections 6 and 44, Child Care Act 1991

Supported Lodgings for Children

Section 5, Child Care Act 1991

”.

(2) Section 192BA(1) of the Principal Act (as inserted by subsection (1)(b)) is amended in paragraph (b) of the definition of “qualifying payment” by substituting “Member State or of the United Kingdom” for “Member State”.

(3) Subsection (2) shall come into operation on such day as the Minister for Finance may

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appoint by order.

Exemption in respect of training allowance payments14. Chapter 1 of Part 7 of the Principal Act is amended by inserting the following section

after section 192F (inserted by this Act):

“Exemption in respect of training allowance payments192G. (1) In this section—

‘Minister’ means the Minister for Education and Skills;

‘qualifying payment’, means a payment, generally referred to and commonly known as a further education training allowance, which is made by or on behalf of the Minister to a qualifying individual—

(a) who is undertaking an approved further education and training course under a scheme or schemes (which or each of which is referred to in the definition of ‘qualifying individual’ in this subsection as ‘the relevant scheme’) administered by or on behalf of the Minister, and

(b) who, if he or she were not undertaking such a course, would be in receipt of or eligible for a payment from the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection;

‘qualifying individual’ means an individual who satisfies the conditions of the relevant scheme as may be specified from time to time by the Minister and the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection.

(2) A qualifying payment made to a qualifying individual on or after 1 January 2020 shall be exempt from income tax and shall not be reckoned in computing the total income of the qualifying individual for the purposes of the Income Tax Acts.

(3) A qualifying payment which is made to a qualifying individual before 1 January 2020 shall be treated as if it were exempt from income tax in the year of assessment to which it relates and shall not be reckoned in computing the total income of the qualifying individual for that year of assessment for the purposes of the Income Tax Acts.”.

Exemption in respect of certain education-related payments15. (1) Chapter 1 of Part 7 of the Principal Act is amended by inserting the following section

after section 192E:

“Exemption in respect of certain education-related payments192F. (1) In this section—

‘the Act’ means the Student Support Act 2011;

‘awarding authority’ has the same meaning as it has in the Act;

‘grant’ has the same meaning as it has in the Act;

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‘Minister’ means the Minister for Education and Skills;

‘student’ has the same meaning as it has in the Act.

(2) This section applies to—

(a) a payment made by an awarding authority to or in respect of a student in accordance with a scheme or schemes of grants—

(i) made by the Minister under the Act, or

(ii) confirmed under section 29 of the Act,

or

(b) a payment made—

(i) in accordance with the law of a Member State (other than the State), and

(ii) which corresponds to a payment referred to in paragraph (a).

(3) A payment to which this section applies, which is made on or after 1 January 2020, shall be exempt from income tax and shall not be reckoned in computing total income for the purposes of the Income Tax Acts.

(4) A payment to which this section applies, which is made before 1 January 2020, shall be treated as if it was exempt from income tax in the year of assessment to which it relates and shall not be reckoned in computing total income for the purposes of the Income Tax Acts.”.

(2) Section 192F of the Principal Act (as inserted by subsection (1)) is amended in subsection (2)(b)(i), by the insertion of “or in the United Kingdom” after “(other than the State)”.

(3) Subsection (2) shall come into operation on such day as the Minister for Finance may appoint by order.

Amendment of section 477C of Principal Act (help to buy)16. Section 477C of the Principal Act is amended—

(a) in subsection (1), in the definition of “qualifying period”, by substituting “2021” for “2019”,

(b) in subsection (8)(b), by substituting “2017 to 2021” for “2017, 2018 or 2019”,

(c) in subsection (16)(a)—

(i) in subparagraph (ii), by substituting “2021” for “2019”, and

(ii) in subparagraph (iii), by substituting “2021” for “2019”,

and

(d) in subsection (25), by substituting “2021” for “2019”.

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Amendment of section 774 of Principal Act (certain approved schemes: exemptions and reliefs)17. Section 774(6) of the Principal Act is amended—

(a) by inserting the following paragraph after paragraph (a):

“(aa) For the purposes of this section—

‘relevant contributor’ means a company (‘the first-mentioned company’) which pays contributions under an exempt approved scheme for the benefit of scheme members who are not its employees, where—

(i) the contributions are paid under the terms of a legally binding agreement between the first-mentioned company and another company or companies,

(ii) the agreement was entered into—

(I) between 2 or more companies (including the first-mentioned company) within a group,

(II) under a scheme of reconstruction or amalgamation,

(III) under a merger,

(IV) under a division, or

(V) under a joint venture,

(iii) the scheme members are either current or former employees of one of the parties to that agreement, and

(iv) the contributions would qualify for relief under paragraph (c) if the scheme members were employees of the first-mentioned company;

‘group’ means 2 or more companies which satisfy the conditions for group relief under section 411;

‘scheme of reconstruction or amalgamation’ has the same meaning as in section 615;

‘merger’ and ‘division’ have the same meaning as in section 638A;

‘joint venture’ means an agreement between 2 or more companies, other than within a group.”,

and

(b) in paragraph (b), by inserting “or relevant contributor” after “an employer”.

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CHAPTER 4

Income Tax, Corporation Tax and Capital Gains Tax

Living City Initiative18. The Principal Act is amended—

(a) in section 372AAA, in the definition of “qualifying period”, by substituting “on 31 December 2022;” for “5 years after that date;”, and

(b) in section 372AAD, in the definition of “relevant qualifying period”, by substituting “31 December 2022;” for “4 May 2020;”.

Amendment of Part 11C of Principal Act (emissions-based limits on capital allowances and expenses for certain road vehicles)19. (1) The Principal Act is amended in Part 11C—

(a) in section 380L—

(i) in subsections (3)(a), (4)(a), (5)(a)(I) and (6)(a), by substituting “A or B” for “A, B or C” in each place,

(ii) in subsections (3)(b), (4)(b), (5)(a)(II) and (6)(b), by substituting “C” for “D or E” in each place, and

(iii) in subsections (3)(c), (4)(c), (5)(a)(III) and (6)(c), by substituting “D, E, F or G” for “F or G” in each place,

and

(b) in section 380M—

(i) in paragraph (a), by substituting “A or B” for “A, B or C”,

(ii) in paragraph (b), by substituting “C” for “D or E”, and

(iii) in paragraph (c), by substituting “D, E, F or G” for “F or G”.

(2) Subsection (1) shall apply to expenditure incurred on the provision or hiring of a vehicle on or after 1 January 2021, except where, prior to that date—

(a) the contract for the hire of the vehicle was entered into, and

(b) the first payment required under that contract was made.

Amendment of section 81 of Principal Act (general rule as to deductions)20. (1) Section 81 of the Principal Act is amended—

(a) in subsection (2)—

(i) in paragraph (o), by substituting “relief;” for “relief.”, and

(ii) by inserting the following paragraph after paragraph (o):

“(p) any taxes on income.”,

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and

(b) by inserting the following subsection after subsection (3):

“(4) In this section, ‘doubtful debts to the extent that they are respectively estimated to be bad’ means, in respect of a company, impairment losses as calculated in accordance with generally accepted accounting practice.”.

(2) Subsection (1)(b) shall be deemed to have applied as respects accounting periods beginning on or after 1 January 2018.

Amendment of Schedule 4 to Principal Act (exemption of specified non-commercial state sponsored bodies from certain tax provisions)21. (1) Schedule 4 to the Principal Act is amended—

(a) by inserting the following paragraph after paragraph 20A:

“20B. Children’s Health Ireland.”,

(b) by inserting the following paragraph after paragraph 35:

“35A. Enterprise Ireland.”,

and

(c) by inserting the following paragraph after paragraph 74A:

“74AA. The National Oil Reserves Agency Designated Activity Company.”.

(2) (a) Paragraph (a) of subsection (1) shall be deemed to have effect from 4 December 2018.

(b) Paragraph (b) of subsection (1) shall be deemed to have effect from 23 July 1998.

(c) Paragraph (c) of subsection (1) shall have effect from 1 January 2020.

Amendment of section 845C of Principal Act (treatment of Additional Tier 1 instruments)22. Section 845C of the Principal Act is amended in subsection (1) by substituting the

following for the definition of “Additional Tier 1 instrument”:

“ ‘Additional Tier 1 instrument’ means an instrument—

(a) which qualifies, or has qualified, as an Additional Tier 1 instrument under Article 52 of the Capital Requirements Regulation, or

(b) which is an instrument that has not been issued by an institution within the meaning of Article 4 of the Capital Requirements Regulation but which satisfies conditions that, with any necessary modification of them by virtue of the fact that the instrument has not been issued by a foregoing institution, are equivalent to the conditions specified in Article 52 of the Capital Requirements Regulation;”.

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Amendment of section 130 of Principal Act (matters to be treated as distributions)23. (1) Section 130 of the Principal Act is amended—

(a) by substituting for subsection (2B) the following:

“(2B) Subsection (2)(d)(iv) shall not apply as respects interest, other than interest to which section 452 or 845A applies, paid to a company which is a resident of—

(a) a Member State, other than the State, or

(b) the United Kingdom,

and, for the purposes of this subsection—

(i) a company is a resident of a Member State if the company is by virtue of the law of that Member State resident for the purposes of tax (being any tax imposed in the Member State which corresponds to corporation tax in the State) in such Member State, and

(ii) a company is a resident of the United Kingdom if the company is by virtue of the law of the United Kingdom resident for the purposes of tax (being any tax imposed in the United Kingdom which corresponds to corporation tax in the State) in the United Kingdom.”,

and

(b) in subsection (3)(d), in the definition of “relevant Member State”—

(i) in subparagraph (i), by deleting “or”,

(ii) in subparagraph (ii), by substituting “made, or” for “made.”, and

(iii) by inserting the following after subparagraph (ii):

“(iii) the United Kingdom.”.

(2) This section shall apply from the day (at the time thereon appointed in that behalf under the Act next mentioned) that Part 6 of the Withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union (Consequential Provisions) Act 2019 comes into operation.

Amendment of Part 6 of Principal Act (distributions and dividend withholding tax)24. (1) The Principal Act is amended—

(a) in section 153(6)(a) by substituting “25 per cent” for “the standard rate”,

(b) in section 172A(1)(a)—

(i) in the definition of “dividend withholding tax”, by substituting “a rate of 25 per cent” for “the standard rate in force at the time the relevant distribution is made”,

(ii) by substituting the following definition for the definition of “tax reference number”:

“ ‘tax reference number’ means—

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(i) in the case of an individual who is or was resident in the State, the Personal Public Service Number (within the meaning of section 262 of the Social Welfare Consolidation Act 2005) issued to the individual,

(ii) in the case of a person, not being a person to whom subparagraph (i) applies, or other body who or which is within the charge to income tax or corporation tax in the State, the reference number stated on any return of income form or notice of assessment issued to the person or other body by an officer of the Revenue Commissioners, and

(iii) in the case of any other person or body, the reference number stated on any return of income form or notice of assessment issued, or any other reference number allocated, to the person or body for the purposes of income tax or corporation tax or any tax which corresponds to income tax or corporation tax, by the tax authority of the country in which that person or other body is resident for the purposes of income tax or corporation tax or any tax which corresponds to income tax or corporation tax;”,

and

(iii) by inserting the following definition after the definition of “tax reference number”:

“ ‘ultimate payer’ means the company, authorised withholding agent, qualifying intermediary or other person from whom a relevant distribution, or an amount or other asset representing a relevant distribution, is receivable by the person beneficially entitled to the distribution as referred to in paragraph (a), (b), (c) or (d), as the case may be, of section 172BA(1).”,

and

(c) by inserting the following section after section 172B:

“Obligation on certain persons to obtain tax reference numbers of persons beneficially entitled to relevant distributions172BA. (1) As respects relevant distributions made on or after 1 January 2021—

(a) where the relevant distribution is made by a company directly to the person beneficially entitled to the relevant distribution, the company making the relevant distribution,

(b) where the relevant distribution is not made by a company directly to the person beneficially entitled to the relevant distribution but is made to that person through an authorised withholding agent, the authorised withholding agent from whom the relevant distribution, or an amount or other asset representing the relevant distribution, is receivable by the person beneficially entitled to the distribution,

(c) where the relevant distribution is not made by a company directly to the person beneficially entitled to the relevant distribution but is

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made to that person through one or more qualifying intermediaries, the qualifying intermediary from whom the relevant distribution, or an amount or other asset representing the relevant distribution, is receivable by the person beneficially entitled to the distribution, and

(d) where the relevant distribution is not made by a company directly to the person beneficially entitled to the relevant distribution but is made to that person through one or more other persons who is not, or not all of, or none of whom are, a qualifying intermediary, the person from whom the relevant distribution, or an amount or other asset representing the relevant distribution, is receivable by the person beneficially entitled to the distribution,

shall, in advance of the making of such a relevant distribution and in respect of each person who is beneficially entitled to such a relevant distribution, take all reasonable steps to obtain the tax reference number of that person and shall keep as a record that tax reference number, and section 886 shall apply in relation to that record as it applies in relation to records within the meaning of that section.

(2) The ultimate payer shall ensure that Article 5 of Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 April 2016 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data, and repealing Directive 95/46/EC (General Data Protection Regulation) is complied with when the ultimate payer is fulfilling the requirements of subsection (1).”.

(2) Subsection (1) shall have effect from 1 January 2020.

Amendment of Chapter 2 of Part 29 of Principal Act (scientific and certain other research)25. (1) Section 765(1) of the Principal Act is amended—

(a) by substituting the following paragraph for paragraph (a):

“(a) incurs capital expenditure on scientific research—

(i) other than on a building or structure, or

(ii) on any building or structure to the extent only that the construction or development of such building or structure is scientific research,”,

and

(b) in paragraph (c), by deleting “to the inspector”.

(2) Section 766 of the Principal Act is amended—

(a) in subsection (1)—

(i) in paragraph (a)—

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(I) in subparagraph (ii) of the definition of “expenditure on research and development”, by deleting “or this Chapter”, and

(II) in subparagraph (ii) of the definition of “relevant period”, by substituting “submitted” for “given to the appropriate inspector”,

(ii) in paragraph (b)—

(I) in subparagraph (v)—

(A) in clause (I), by inserting “or the European Union” after “Member State”,

(B) in clause (II), by substituting “Member State or an institution, office, agency or other body of the European Union, or” for “Member State;”, and

(C) by inserting the following clause after clause (II):

“(III) a state, other than the State or a Member State referred to in clause (I), and any board, authority, institution, office, agency or other body in such state;”,

(II) in subparagraph (vii), by substituting “15” for “5”, and

(III) in subparagraph (viii)(II), by inserting “, in advance of making the payment or on the date the payment is made,” after “notifies that person in writing”,

and

(iii) by inserting the following paragraph after paragraph (b):

“(c) In this Chapter, a ‘relevant micro or small sized company’ means a company which is a micro or small sized enterprise within the meaning of the Annex to Commission Recommendation 2003/361/EC of 6 May 20033 concerning the definition of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises.”,

(b) in subsection (1A)(a), by deleting “or this Chapter”,

(c) in subsection (2)—

(i) by deleting “to the appropriate inspector”, and

(ii) by inserting “, or 30 per cent where that company is a relevant micro or small sized company,” after “25 per cent”,

(d) in subsection (2A)(a), by deleting “to the appropriate inspector”,

(e) in subsection (3)(a), by deleting “to the appropriate inspector”,

(f) in subsection (4B)(b)(i), by substituting “959A” for “950(1)”, and

(g) in subsection (7B)—

(i) by substituting the following paragraph for paragraph (b):

“(b) (i) Any claim in respect of a specified amount or pursuant to

3 OJ No. L124, 20.5.2003, p. 36

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section 766C(4) shall be deemed for the purposes of section 1077E to be a claim in connection with a credit and, for the purposes of determining an amount in accordance with section 1077E(11) or 1077E(12), a reference to an amount of tax that would have been payable for the relevant periods by the person concerned shall be read as if it were a reference to a specified amount or an amount pursuant to section 766C(4).

(ii) Any claim in respect of subsection (4B), section 766A(4B) or pursuant to section 766C(4), as the case may be, that remains unpaid, shall be deemed for the purposes of section 1077E to be a claim in connection with a credit and, for the purposes of determining an amount in accordance with section 1077E(11) or 1077E(12), a reference to an amount of tax that would have been payable for the relevant periods by the person concerned shall be read as if it were a reference to the amount so claimed.”,

(ii) in paragraph (c)—

(I) by substituting the following subparagraph for subparagraph (i):

“(i) Subject to subparagraph (ii), where a company makes a claim in respect of a specified amount or pursuant to section 766C(4) and it is subsequently found that the claim is not as authorised by this section or by section 766A or 766C, as the case may be, then the company may be charged to tax under Case IV of Schedule D for the accounting period in respect of which the payment was made or the amount surrendered, as the case may be, in an amount equal to 4 times so much of—

(I) the specified amount, or

(II) the amount pursuant to section 766C(4),

as is not so authorised.”,

and

(II) by inserting the following subparagraph after paragraph (ii):

“(iii) An amount chargeable to tax under this paragraph shall be treated—

(I) as income against which no loss, deficit, expense or allowance may be set off, and

(II) as not forming part of the income of the company for the purposes of calculating a surcharge under section 440,

and no claim may be made under subsection (2), (4) or (4A) to reduce the corporation tax arising on an amount chargeable to tax under this paragraph.”,

and

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(iii) in paragraph (d), by substituting “an assessment is made” for “an inspector makes an assessment”.

(3) Section 766A(1) of the Principal Act is amended—

(a) in paragraph (a), in the definition of “relevant expenditure”, by deleting “or this Part”, and

(b) in paragraph (b)(i)—

(i) in clause (I), by inserting “or the European Union” after “Member State”,

(ii) in clause (II), by substituting “Member State or an institution, body, office, agency or other body of the European Union, or” for “Member State;”, and

(iii) by inserting the following clause after clause (II):

“(III) a state, other than the State or a Member State referred to in clause (I), and any board, authority, institution, office, agency or other body in such state;”.

(4) Section 766B(3) of the Principal Act is amended—

(a) in paragraph (b)(ii)(II), by substituting “ends, or” for “ends.”, and

(b) by inserting the following paragraph after paragraph (b):

“(c) the aggregate amount of twice the payroll liabilities for each income tax month, within the meaning of section 983, that forms part of the relevant accounting period of a relevant micro or small sized company in which the expenditure is incurred.”.

(5) The Principal Act is amended by inserting the following section after section 766B:

“Tax credit for research and development expenditure for smaller companies766C. (1) In this section—

‘payroll liabilities’ has the same meaning as in section 766B(1);

‘relevant micro or small sized company’ and ‘expenditure on research and development’ have the same meaning as they have in section 766;

‘tax liability’ means—

(a) in respect of income tax collected under Chapter 4 of Part 42, payroll liabilities, other than those referred to in paragraph (b) of the definition of ‘payroll liabilities’ in section 766B, due and payable in respect of each income tax month, as defined in section 983, and

(b) in respect of tax, within the meaning of section 2 of the Value-Added Tax Consolidation Act 2010, the amount due and payable for each taxable period within the meaning of section 76 of that Act,

where that income tax month or taxable period, as the case may be, forms part of the accounting period in which the expenditure on

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research and development was incurred.

(2) This section shall apply to a relevant micro or small sized company which exists for the purposes of carrying on a trade but has not yet commenced to carry on that trade.

(3) (a) In applying this subsection, the definition in section 766(1)(a) of ‘expenditure on research and development’ shall apply as if references to amounts being allowable for tax purposes were references to amounts which would be allowable for tax purposes, if the company had commenced to trade.

(b) Notwithstanding subsection (1)(b)(vi) of section 766, a company to which this section applies may make a claim under subsection (2) of that section in an accounting period prior to commencing to trade, but, subject to subsection (7) of this section, no claim under subsection (2A) or (4B) of the said section 766 may be made in respect of expenditure referred to in paragraph (a).

(4) Where a company makes a claim under subsection (3), and as respects any accounting period of that company, the amount by which the company is entitled to reduce corporation tax of the accounting period exceeds the corporation tax of the company for the accounting period, the company may make a claim to have that excess offset against the company’s tax liability for that accounting period, and where this results in an overpayment of the tax liability for that accounting period then, subject to section 960H, a refund may issue.

(5) Notwithstanding subsection (4), no amount shall be surrendered to a tax liability where the emoluments to which the payroll liabilities relate remain unpaid 3 months after the end of the relevant accounting period.

(6) Any claim under this section shall be made within 12 months from the end of the accounting period in which the expenditure on research and development, giving rise to the claim, is incurred.

(7) Where a company has made a claim under this section and subsequently begins to trade, the expenditure calculated for the purposes of section 766(1)(b)(vi)(I) shall be determined by the formula—

(A - B)

where—

A is equal to the total expenditure calculated for the purposes of section 766(1)(b)(vi)(I), and

B is equal to the amount of tax liabilities reduced under subsection (4) divided by 0.30.”.

(6) (a) This section, subject to paragraphs (b) and (c), applies as respects accounting periods beginning on or after the date of the passing of this Act.

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(b) Subsections (2)(c)(ii), (4)(b) and (5) shall come into operation on such day or days as the Minister for Finance may by order or orders appoint and different days may be appointed for different purposes or different provisions.

(c) Subsection (1) and subsections (2)(a)(i)(I) and (b) and (3)(a) shall apply to expenditure incurred on or after 1 January 2020.

Amendment of Part 16 of Principal Act (relief for investment in corporate trades)26. (1) Section 497 of the Principal Act is amended—

(a) in subsection (3)—

(i) by substituting “B – A” for “A – B”, and

(ii) by substituting “is the greater of” for “is the lesser of”,

and

(b) in subsection (4)—

(i) by deleting “(in this section referred to as the “relevant issue”)”,

(ii) by substituting “B – A” for “A – B”,

(iii) by substituting “is the greater of” for “is the lesser of”, and

(iv) by deleting “before the relevant issue”.

(2) Section 502 of the Principal Act is amended—

(a) in subsection (2), by substituting “In respect of shares issued on or before 8 October 2019, a qualifying investor who makes a qualifying investment in a qualifying company shall be entitled, subject to this section, to relief for—” for “A qualifying investor who makes a qualifying investment in a qualifying company shall be entitled, subject to this section, to relief for—”,

(b) by inserting the following after subsection (2):

“(2A) In respect of shares issued after 8 October 2019, a qualifying investor who makes a qualifying investment in a qualifying company shall be entitled, subject to this section, to relief for the full amount subscribed, which shall be given, subject to section 508J(4), as a deduction from his or her total income for the year of assessment in which the shares are issued.”,

(c) by substituting the following for subsection (3):

“(3) (a) The maximum qualifying investment in respect of which an investor may claim relief under this Part is—

(i) €150,000 in respect of the year of assessment 2019,

(ii) in respect of the year of assessment 2020 and each subsequent year of assessment—

(I) €500,000 in respect of an investment to which paragraph (b) applies, or

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(II) €250,000 in respect of all other investments.

(b) This paragraph applies to an investment in eligible shares where the investor undertakes not to dispose of those shares for a period of 7 years, and for the purposes of applying sections 508M and 508P to this investment, the definition of relevant period in section 488(1), shall be read as if the reference to ‘4 years’ were a reference to ‘7 years’.

(c) A qualifying investor shall, for a qualifying investment, provide to the Revenue Commissioners, through such electronic means as the Revenue Commissioners make available, such information as the Revenue Commissioners may require for the purposes of paragraph (a).”,

and

(d) in subsection (4) by substituting “In respect of shares issued on or before 8 October 2019, an amount shall not be given as a deduction under subsection (2)(b) unless in relation to a qualifying company and its qualifying subsidiaries—” for “An amount shall not be given as a deduction under subsection (2)(b) unless in relation to a qualifying company and its qualifying subsidiaries—”.

(3) Section 508F of the Principal Act is amended—

(a) in paragraph (a) of subsection (1) by inserting “or 502(2A)” after “under 502(2)(a)”, and

(b) in paragraph (b) of subsection (1) by substituting “second stage” for “follow-on”.

(4) (a) Section 508J of the Principal Act is amended, with effect from 8 October 2019—

(i) by substituting the following for subsection (2):

“(2) The managers of a designated fund shall, within 30 days of receipt of a statement of qualification, deliver to the Revenue Commissioners, through such electronic means as the Revenue Commissioners make available, a return of the holdings of eligible shares shown on statements of qualification received by them.”,

and

(ii) in subsection (4)—

(I) by inserting “and” in paragraph (a) after “by the managers of a designated fund,”,

(II) by deleting “and” in paragraph (b), and

(III) by deleting paragraph (c).

(b) Section 508J of the Principal Act is amended, with effect from 1 January 2020 by substituting “then the individual shall be entitled to relief, under section 502(2)(a) or 502(2A), as a deduction from his or her total income for the year of assessment in which the amount was subscribed to the designated fund.” for “then the individual may elect by notice in writing to the Revenue Commissioners to have the relief due under section 502(2)(a) given as a deduction from his or her total

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income for the year of assessment in which the amount was subscribed to the designated fund, instead of (as provided for in section 502(2)(a)) as a deduction from his or her total income for the year of assessment in which the shares are issued.”.

(5) Section 508R of the Principal Act is amended—

(a) in subsection (1)—

(i) in paragraph (a), by substituting the following for subparagraphs (i) and (ii):

“(i) shares that belong to that individual, or

(ii) shares that belong to another individual whose relief on those shares has been reduced by virtue of section 508P(3),”,

and

(ii) in paragraph (b), by substituting the following for subparagraphs (i) and (ii):

“(i) shares that belong to that individual, or

(ii) shares that belong to another individual whose relief on those shares has been reduced by virtue of section 508P(3),”,

and

(b) in subsection (9)—

(i) in paragraph (a), by substituting “qualifying investment” for “relevant investment”, and

(ii) in paragraph (b), by substituting “qualifying investment” for “relevant investment”.

(6) Section 508V of the Principal Act is amended in subsection (3)—

(a) in paragraph (d) by substituting “be,” for “be, or”,

(b) in paragraph (e) by substituting “relief was claimed, or” for “relief was claimed.”, and

(c) by inserting the following after paragraph (e):

“(f) in the case of relief withdrawn in accordance with subsection (1)(b)(v), the date of the event the happening of which causes the relief to be withdrawn.”.

(7) Section 508X of the Principal Act is amended in subsection (1)(a)(ii) by substituting “second stage” for “follow-on”.

(8) Section 508Y of the Principal Act is amended by inserting the following after subsection (2):

“(2A) A person who does not comply with subsection (2) shall be liable to a penalty of €3,000.

(2B) Where the person mentioned in subsection (2A) is a company—

(a) the company shall be liable to a penalty of €4,000, and

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(b) the secretary of the company shall be liable to a separate penalty of €3,000.”.

Transfer Pricing27. (1) The Principal Act is amended by substituting the following for Part 35A:

“PART 35A

Transfer Pricing

Interpretation835A. (1) In this Part—

‘arrangement’ means—

(a) any transaction, action, course of action, course of conduct, scheme or plan,

(b) any agreement, arrangement of any kind, understanding, promise or undertaking, whether express or implied and whether or not it is, or is intended to be, legally enforceable, or

(c) any series of or combination of the circumstances referred to in paragraphs (a) and (b);

‘chargeable asset’ in relation to a person, means an asset which, if it were disposed of by the person, the gain accruing to the person would be a chargeable gain;

‘chargeable period’ has the same meaning as in section 321(2);

‘Commission Recommendation’ means Commission Recommendation 2003/361/EC of 6 May 20034 concerning the definition of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises;

‘double taxation relief arrangements’ means arrangements having effect by virtue of section 826;

‘group’ (other than in the definition of ‘transfer pricing guidelines’ in section 835D(1)) means a company which has one or more 75 per cent subsidiaries together with those subsidiaries;

‘relevant activities’, in relation to a person who is one of the persons between whom an arrangement is made, means that person’s activities which comprise the activities in the course of which, or with respect to which, that arrangement is made and shall include activities involving the disposal and acquisition of an asset or assets;

‘relevant person’, in relation to an arrangement, means a person who is within the charge to tax in respect of profits or gains or losses, the computation of which profits or gains or losses takes account of the results of the arrangement;

‘Revenue officer’ means an officer of the Revenue Commissioners;

4 OJ No. L124, 20.5.2003, p. 36

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‘tax’ means income tax, corporation tax or capital gains tax.

(2) References in this Part to ‘control’, in relation to a company, shall be construed in accordance with section 11.

(3) For the purposes of this Part, references to losses that are chargeable to tax are references to losses arising from relevant activities, which are relevant activities, a profit or gain arising from which would be chargeable to tax.

Meaning of associated835B. (1) For the purposes of this Part—

(a) 2 persons are associated at any time if at that time—

(i) one of the persons is participating in the management, control or capital of the other, or

(ii) the same person is participating in the management, control or capital of each of the 2 persons,

and

(b) a person (in this paragraph referred to as the ‘first person’) is participating in the management, control or capital of another person at any time only if that other person is at that time—

(i) a company, and

(ii) controlled by the first person.

(2) (a) For the purposes of this section a company shall be treated as controlled by an individual if it is controlled by the individual and persons connected with the individual.

(b) For the purposes of this subsection a person is connected with an individual if that person is a relative (within the meaning of section 433(3)(a)) of that individual.

Basic rules on transfer pricing835C. (1) Subject to this Part, this section applies to any arrangement—

(a) involving the supply and acquisition of goods, services, money, assets (including intangible assets) or anything else of commercial value,

(b) where, at the time of the supply and acquisition, the person making the supply (in this Part referred to as the ‘supplier’) and the person making the acquisition (in this Part referred to as the ‘acquirer’) are associated, and

(c) the profits or gains or losses arising from the relevant activities are within the charge to tax in the case of either the supplier or the acquirer or both.

(2) (a) If the amount of the consideration payable (in this Part referred to as the ‘actual consideration payable’) for an acquisition under any

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arrangement to which this section applies exceeds the arm’s length amount, then the profits or gains or losses of the acquirer that are chargeable to tax shall be computed as if the arm’s length amount were payable instead of the actual consideration payable.

(b) If the amount of the consideration receivable (in this Part referred to as the ‘actual consideration receivable’) for a supply under any arrangement to which this section applies is less than the arm’s length amount, then the profits or gains or losses of the supplier that are chargeable to tax shall be computed as if the arm’s length amount were receivable instead of the actual consideration receivable.

(3) In this section the ‘arm’s length amount’ of consideration for a supply and acquisition under an arrangement refers to the amount of consideration that independent parties dealing at arm’s length would have agreed in relation to the supply and acquisition and subsections (4) and (5) shall apply for the purposes of determining the amount of that consideration.

(4) The arm’s length amount of consideration for a supply and acquisition under an arrangement shall be determined by—

(a) identifying the actual commercial or financial relations between the supplier and the acquirer and the conditions and economically relevant circumstances attaching to those relations (the ‘identified arrangement’), and

(b) applying the transfer pricing method set out in the transfer pricing guidelines (as defined in section 835D) that is, in the circumstances, the most appropriate so as to determine the arm’s length amount of consideration for the identified arrangement.

(5) For the purposes of subsection (4)(a)—

(a) the identified arrangement shall be based on the substance of the commercial or financial relations between the supplier and the acquirer where the form of the arrangement is inconsistent with the substance of those relations,

(b) if the identified arrangement, viewed in its totality, differs from that which would have been adopted by independent parties behaving in a commercially rational manner in comparable circumstances then, pursuant to the principles set out in Chapter I, D.2 of the transfer pricing guidelines, the identified arrangement shall be—

(i) disregarded (and, for the purposes of subsection (2)(a), the profits or gains or losses that are chargeable to tax of a relevant person who is an acquirer in relation to that disregarded arrangement, shall be computed as if, instead of the actual consideration payable under the arrangement, no consideration were payable), or

(ii) replaced by an alternative arrangement that achieves a

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commercially rational expected result (and such replacement alternative arrangement shall be regarded as the identified arrangement accordingly).

(6) The reference to a supply or acquisition of an asset in subsection (1)(a) shall, in relation to a chargeable asset, include a disposal or acquisition, as the case may be, of the chargeable asset and, without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing, any reference in section 835HB to a disposal of a chargeable asset shall for the purposes of this Part be construed as being a reference to a supply of the asset.

(7) Where the actual consideration payable under an arrangement exceeds the arm’s length amount and any amount of that excess is treated as a distribution under any provision of the Tax Acts, then for the purposes of computing the amount of profits or gains or losses of the acquirer that are chargeable to tax under Schedule D, subsection (2)(a) shall apply as if the reference in that subsection to the actual consideration payable were a reference to an amount equal to the actual consideration payable less the amount treated as a distribution and the references to the actual consideration payable by the first-mentioned person in subsections (1)(a) and (3) of section 835H shall be construed accordingly.

(8) This section shall not apply to an arrangement involving a sale or transfer of trading stock to which section 89(4) applies.

Principles for construing rules in accordance with OECD Guidelines835D. (1) In this section—

‘Article 9(1) of the OECD Model Tax Convention’ means the provisions which, at the date of the passing of the Finance Act 2019, were contained in Article 9(1) of the Model Tax Convention on Income and Capital published by the OECD;

‘OECD’ means the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development;

‘transfer pricing guidelines’ means the OECD Transfer Pricing Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises and Tax Administrations published by the OECD on 10 July 2017 supplemented by—

(a) the Guidance for Tax Administrations on the Application of the Approach to Hard-to-Value Intangibles - BEPS Actions 8-10, OECD/G20 Base Erosion and Profit Shifting Project, OECD, Paris - approved on 4 June 2018 by the group known as the Inclusive Framework on Base Erosion and Profit Shifting,

(b) the Revised Guidance on the Application of the Transactional Profit Split Method: Inclusive Framework on BEPS: Actions 8-10, OECD/G20 Base Erosion and Profit Shifting Project, OECD, Paris - approved on 4 June 2018 by the group known as the Inclusive Framework on Base Erosion and Profit Shifting, and

(c) such additional guidance, published by the OECD on or after the

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date of the passing of the Finance Act 2019, as may be designated by the Minister for Finance for the purposes of this Part by order made under subsection (3).

(2) For the purpose of computing profits or gains or losses chargeable to tax, this Part shall be construed to ensure, as far as practicable, consistency between—

(a) the effect which is to be given to section 835C, and

(b) the effect which, in accordance with the transfer pricing guidelines, would be given if double taxation relief arrangements incorporating Article 9(1) of the OECD Model Tax Convention applied to the computation of the profits or gains or losses, regardless of whether such double taxation relief arrangements actually apply,

but this section shall not apply for the purposes of construing this Part to the extent that such application of the section would be contrary to the provisions of double taxation relief arrangements that apply to the computation of those profits or gains or losses.

(3) The Minister for Finance may, for the purposes of this Part, by order designate any additional guidance referred to in paragraph (c) of the definition of ‘transfer pricing guidelines’ in subsection (1) as being comprised in the transfer pricing guidelines.

(4) Every order made by the Minister for Finance under subsection (3) shall be laid before Dáil Éireann as soon as may be after it is made and, if a resolution annulling the order is passed by Dáil Éireann within the next 21 days on which Dáil Éireann has sat after the order is laid before it, the order shall be annulled accordingly, but without prejudice to the validity of anything previously done thereunder.

Modification of basic rules on transfer pricing for arrangements between qualifying relevant persons835E.(1) For the purposes of this Part, ‘qualifying relevant person’ means a

relevant person—

(a) who is chargeable to income tax or corporation tax under Schedule D in respect of the profits or gains or losses arising from the relevant activities or who would be chargeable to corporation tax in respect of the profits or gains arising from the relevant activities but for section 129,

(b) who, where that person is chargeable to income tax in respect of the profits or gains or losses arising from the relevant activities, is resident in the State for the purposes of tax for the chargeable period or periods in which a charge arises, and

(c) who is not a qualifying company within the meaning of section 110.

(2) This section shall apply to an arrangement involving a supplier and an acquirer who are qualifying relevant persons.

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(3) Where, in relation to an arrangement referred to in subsection (2), a supplier or an acquirer, as the case may be, is chargeable to tax under Schedule D, other than under Case I or II of Schedule D, in respect of the profits or gains or losses arising from the relevant activities, section 835C shall not apply in computing the amount of the profits or gains or losses arising to the supplier or the acquirer, as the case may be, from the relevant activities.

(4) Subsection (3) shall not apply in the case of an arrangement involving a supplier and an acquirer who are qualifying relevant persons (in this subsection referred to as the ‘first-mentioned arrangement’) which is made as part of, or in connection with any scheme involving the acquirer in relation to the first-mentioned arrangement, or a person associated with the acquirer, entering into an arrangement with a person or persons who are not qualifying relevant persons (in this subsection referred to as the ‘second-mentioned arrangement’) and the sole or main purpose of the first-mentioned arrangement is to directly or indirectly obtain a tax advantage in connection with the second-mentioned arrangement.

(5) For the purpose of subsection (4), ‘tax advantage’ has the same meaning as in section 811C.

(6) A relevant person shall maintain and have available such records as may reasonably be required for the purposes of determining whether the requirements of this section are met.

Small or medium-sized enterprise835F. (1) For the purposes of this section—

‘Annex’ means the Annex to the Commission Recommendation;

‘medium enterprise’ means an enterprise which—

(a) falls within the category of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises as defined in the Annex, and

(b) is not a small enterprise as defined in the Annex;

‘small enterprise’ means a small enterprise as defined in the Annex.

(2) For the purposes of subsection (1), the Annex shall have effect as if—

(a) in the case of an enterprise which is in liquidation or to which an examiner has been appointed under Part 10 of the Companies Act 2014, the rights of the liquidator or examiner (in that capacity) were left out of account when applying Article 3(3)(b) of the Annex in determining for the purposes of this Part whether—

(i) that enterprise, or

(ii) any other enterprise (including that of the liquidator or examiner),

is a small or medium-sized enterprise,

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http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/eli/2014/act/38/enacted/en/htmlhttp://www.irishstatutebook.ie/eli/2014/act/38/enacted/en/htmlhttp://www.irishstatutebook.ie/eli/2014/act/38/enacted/en/html

(b) Article 3 of the Annex had effect with the omission of paragraph 5 of that Article,

(c) the first sentence of Article 4(1) of the Annex had effect as if the data to apply to—

(i) the headcount of staff, and

(ii) the financial amounts,

were the data relating to the chargeable period of the enterprise concerned (instead of the period described in the said first sentence of Article 4(1) of the Annex) and calculated on an annual basis, and

(d) Article 4 of the Annex had effect with the omission of the following provisions—

(i) the second sentence of paragraph 1 of that Article,

(ii) paragraph 2 of that Article, and

(iii) paragraph 3 of that Article.

(3) Section 835G shall not apply to a relevant person in a chargeable period if that person is a small enterprise for that chargeable period.

(4) Section 835G shall apply to a relevant person who is a medium enterprise in a chargeable period only in respect of a relevant arrangement.

(5) For the purposes of subsection (4), a relevant arrangement is an arrangement involving a relevant person who is a medium enterprise and—

(a) in a case where the profits or gains or losses arising to the medium enterprise from the relevant activities are within the charge to tax under Schedule D—

(i) the other party to the arrangement is not a qualifying relevant person, and

(ii) the aggregate consideration accruing to, or payable by, the medium enterprise under the arrangement in the chargeable period exceeds €1 million,

or

(b) in a case where the arrangement involves the supply or acquisition of an asset, which constitutes a disposal or acquisition, as the case may be, of a chargeable asset for the purposes of the Capital Gains Tax Acts or corporation tax on chargeable gains—

(i) the other party to the arrangement (referred to in this paragraph as the ‘other person’) is not resident for the purposes of tax in the State and—

(I) where an asset is supplied to the other person under the arrangement, the asset is not, immediately after its

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acquisition by that other person, a chargeable asset, or

(II) where an asset is acquired from the other person under the arrangement, the asset was not, immediately prior to its acquisition by the medium enterprise, a chargeable asset in relation to that other person,

and

(ii) the market value of the asset disposed of or acquired, as the case may be, exceeds €25 million.

(6) Where section 835G applies to a relevant person who is a medium enterprise, for the purposes of subsection (2) of that section, the med